Homemade milano cookies made healthier at home and with just four ingredients. Filled with a rich chocolate filling and high in fiber and protein.
This copycat milano cookie recipe makes a much healthier cookie, and I think they taste better than the commercial milano cookie put out by the company, Pepperidge Farm.
In fact, this recipe tastes closer to the commercial recipe than other copycat recipes probably because oat flour has a strong vanilla flavor and after taste. Plus the oat flour allows the texture of the cookie to be snappy, just like a true milano. This recipe is incredible easy, and will put cookies on your table fast just like my samoa cookies and my matcha cookies.
What Are Milano Cookies?
Milano cookies are thin, snappy, oval sandwich cookies filled with a chocolate fudge. Invented by the United States-based company, Pepperidge Farm, the milano cookie has had a strong following for decades. The manufacturer also produces the cookie in many flavors including double chocolate, orange chocolate and mint. Of course my recipe can be adapted to create those flavors as well.
I grew up with Milano cookies as my go-to commercial cookie. I could eat a whole familiar white bag in seconds lol, and we loved to include them as long-car-ride snacks. However, they are full of preservatives, additives, common allergens and not gluten-free or vegan. So let's change that.
Ingredients
The ingredients are so few and familiar that you probably have them all in your pantry. Here is the full list:
1. Oat flour. This flour is naturally gluten-free if you buy a certified GF brand, and has more nutritional than all purpose. Still all purpose flour works here, just use less. Oat flour can be bought or made by blending rolled oats for a minute or two in a blender.
2. Butter. I used vegan butter sticks but traditional butter works as well. Use the stick at room temperature so when you press a finger into it, a slight indent is left.
3. Powdered sugar. I mean powdered sugar here, not sugar that you grind up as you'll find I call for in my Fluffy Vanilla Cake Recipe. I use vegan brands that don't have bonechar.
4. Aquafaba. The liquid from an unsalted chickpea can or box. Be sure your aquafaba is at room temperature. Open the box, drain the aquafaba into a jar and measuring out the amount you need for this recipe. Then refrigerate the jar for a week to use in other recipes.
5. Vanilla. Add 1-2 teaspoon of vanilla.
6. Chocolate chips. I used 60% cacao semi-sweet chips, and added a teaspoon of oil to thin.
Steps to Make Milano Cookies
The detailed recipe is below this post in a recipe card with the video, however here are the general steps.
1. Gather ingredients, oat flour, powdered sugar, aquafaba, butter and vanilla.
2. Mix them up. I simply hand-mixed them in a measuring cup.
3. Put the batter into a frosting bag with the tip cut off revealing a 1-inch opening. Refrigerate the batter in the bag for just 10 minutes.
4. Pipe the batter in 3-inch lines, separated by 2 inches. The cookies will spread. This recipe makes about 14 cookies if you use my template - 10 in the first batch, 4 in the second. So that makes 7 sandwich cookies, or milanos.
Here is the template I provide: Downloadable Milano Cookie Template. You print it out, and slip it under the parchment paper so you can see the lines through the paper. Pipe along the lines, then remove the template before you bake the cookies. You don't have to use the template if you have a steady hand, just pipe 3-inch long cookies.
5. Pro-tip: If you bake in two batches, leave unbaked batter in refrigerator before piping and baking to help contain spreading and keep the nice oval shape.
6. Bake the cookies at 350 F for 16-18 minutes or until edges are faintly brown.
7. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet.
8. Melt chocolate chips and a bit of coconut oil for 60 seconds in a microwave. Stir until all chips are melted. Spoon the melted chocolate down the center of the inside of a cookie and press another on top.
9. Let them set before jostling them much.
Store & Make Ahead
These cookies store well in a sealed container for a few days, and then refrigerate although they will lose their crispiness.
Substitutions & Variations
1.All purpose flour can be used instead of oat flour, just use only 1 cup.
2.White chocolate can be used instead of chocolate as a filling.
3.The batter can be flavored with extracts such as peppermint extract.
Expert Tips
Room temperature ingredients: Be sure your butter and aquafaba are at room temperature.
Measuring flour: Fluff oat flour with a fork and spoon into a measuring cup, and level off. Do not scoop.
Measuring Cookie Length: Here is Downloadable Milano Cookie Template I provide to create three inch long cookies.
Piping Cookie Batter: Put the batter in a frosting bag without a formal tip. Just cut off the tip to revealing a 1-inch opening. Or use a large plastic ziplock bag.
FAQS
Milano cookies were named by Pepperidge Farm based on a marketing trend to name their cookies after cities in Italy. This cookie is actually a spin-off of their "Naples" cookie.
Are Milano cookies from Milan? No, Milano Cookies are not from the city Milan in Italy? They are made by the American-based company in 1956.
Interesting fact! The original commercial Milano cookie was not a sandwich cookie, and had only a bottom wafer.[source]
The many flavors of commercial milanos include Milk Chocolate, Double Chocolate, Chocolate Mint, Orange, Raspberry, Lemon, Dulce de Leche, Mocha, Salted Caramel, Banana, Key Lime, Candy Cane, and Pumpkin Spice.
Other Cookies You Will Love
Samoa Cookies
Thin Mints
Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Hermit Cookies
Matcha Cookies
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Milano Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Sandwich cookie
- 1 ¼ cup oat flour or 1 cup of all purpose
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup butter softened
- ⅓ cup aquafaba liquid from a can of unsalted chickpeas
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
Filling
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil Optional to thin.
Instructions
Prep
- Gather ingredients
- Print my template, line a quarter cookie sheet with parchment paper and slide my paper template beneath so the lines show through the parchment.
- Preheat the oven at 350 F.
Make cookies
- Add ingredients to a bowl and blend up until creamy.1 ¼ cup oat flour, ¼ cup butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, pinch of salt
- Spoon your batter into a frosting bag with the tip cut off. I cut the tip so the opening is about 1-inch and push it into a glass to make filling it easier.
- Pro-tip: Chill the dough 15 minutes in the refrigerator before baking. If you bake in two batches, leave unbaked batter in refrigerator just 10 minutes before piping and baking to help contain spreading and keep the nice oval shape.
- Pipe 3-inch cookies along the lines you see through the parchment paper.
- Slide the paper template out from beneath the parchment paper
- Bake 18 minutes or until edges are tinged with brown.
- Let the cookies cool in the pan. Transfer them to a cooling rack.
Make filling
- When the cookies are cooled, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in the microwave for 60 seconds. Stir the chocolate until all chips are melted. Spread the chocolate on one side of a cookies, and press another on top.1 cup chocolate chips, 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- Let them set at room temperature.
Store the Cookies
- Store them at room temperature in a sealed container for 2-3 days or refrigerate for a week. They can also be frozen in an airtight container for three months.
Liz
I would love to try this. Since going vegan have missed these!
Dee Dine
Great news! I hear you!
JD
Do you have to use parchment paper on a pan to make these? I usually make cookies on a no-stick pan.
Dee Dine
I always use parchment paper on a pan to bake cookies, so I am not sure how the texture would change if you baked them another way.